1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to the general art of land vehicles and to the particular field of collision impact absorption.
2. Discussion of the Related Art
The death and injury toll associated with automobile collisions in the United States, and around the world, is frightening. Deaths associated with automobile accidents in the United States alone exceeds fifty thousand per year.
While automobiles are safer each year and safety is improved with each new model, there is always room for further improvements in the area of automobile safety, especially collision force and energy absorption.
Therefore, there is a need for a system for absorbing force and energy associated with a collision of a land vehicle.
While many automobiles have special designs for absorbing the force and energy associated with a collision, such as special crumple zones, and the like, these designs generally are directed to protecting the occupants of the vehicle from high impact collisions. Of course, high impact collision protection is important; however, much damage can be done to the vehicle and/or the occupants of the vehicle in low impact collisions as well. Again, many automobiles have systems for protecting the vehicle and/or the occupants from low impact collisions. An example of this type of system is the simple vehicle bumper. However, even when such bumper systems are combined with crumple zones and the like, there is still much room for improvement in the protection of vehicle occupants from the energy and force associated with vehicle collisions.
Therefore, there is a need for a system for absorbing force and energy associated with a collision of a land vehicle which includes a plurality of stages. Still further, there is a need for a system for absorbing force and energy associated with a collision of a land vehicle which includes a plurality of stages including a low impact stage and a high impact stage.
It is a main object of the present invention to provide a system for absorbing force and energy associated with a collision of a land vehicle.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for absorbing force and energy associated with a collision of a land vehicle which includes a plurality of stages.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for absorbing force and energy associated with a collision of a land vehicle which includes a first stage associated with low impact collisions.
It is another object of the present invention to provide a system for absorbing force and energy associated with a collision of a land vehicle which includes a stage associated with high impact collisions.
These, and other, objects are achieved by a system for absorbing force and energy associated with a collision of a land vehicle which comprises a first stage absorbing system which includes a plurality of spring units in a bumper of a land vehicle, each spring unit including a compression spring and a rod, and a one-way mechanism on the rod which permits the rod to move one way against the force of the compression spring and which includes locks that prevent the rod from moving in an opposite direction under force exerted thereon by the compression spring; and a second stage absorbing system which includes a plurality of shafts extending in a length direction of the land vehicle, a stationary mounting bracket fixed to the land vehicle and which slidably accommodates two shafts with the shafts being offset from each other, a movable spring mounting bracket slidably mounted on each shaft, a fixed spring mounting bracket fixedly mounted on each shaft, a first compression spring having one end thereof mounted on the stationary mounting bracket and a second end thereof mounted on the movable mounting bracket on each shaft, a second compression spring having one end thereof mounted on the fixed spring mounting bracket of each shaft and a second end thereof mounted on the movable spring mounting bracket on each shaft, the first compression spring being aligned with the second compression spring on each shaft, a first hydraulic spring unit having one end thereof mounted on the stationary mounting bracket and a second end thereof mounted on the movable mounting bracket on each shaft, a second hydraulic spring unit having one end thereof mounted on the fixed spring mounting bracket on each shaft and a second end thereof mounted on the movable spring mounting bracket on each shaft, and the first compression spring of one shaft mounted on the stationary mounting bracket being aligned with the first hydraulic spring unit of a second shaft mounted on the stationary mounting bracket.
The first stage accommodates low force and/or energy collisions while the second stage accommodates high force and/or energy collisions. The lock on the compression springs of the first stage.prevents the springs from releasing the energy stored therein during the energy absorption of the first stage. The second stage uses the energy absorbing capabilities of the first stage and thus is able to accommodate even higher energies. Thus, a vehicle is protected for both low energy impact as well as high energy impact.